U.S.

People First May 4, 2012

Editorâ€™s Note: The â€œPeople Firstâ€ section is compiled from information from the Air Force Personnel Center, TRICARE, 56th Force Support Squadron, Airman and Family Readiness Flight, Veterans Affairs, the civilian personnel office and armed forces news services. For the complete story, go to the web address listed at the end of the story.

Mobile app connects Airmen to their base

Want to connect with friends and family? Thereâ€™s an app for that. Need to find the best restaurant around? Thereâ€™s an app for that. Want to see what movies are playing nearby? Thereâ€™s an app for that.

Discovering what events your base is hosting on a particular day? Now there is an app for that, too.

Itâ€™s called â€œMy Military Communities,â€ or MyMC2, and is the first mobile application in the Air Force that will put a list of every event at your base in the palm of your hand. The app is a free download and is now available through both the Android Market and Appleâ€™s App Store.

Developed by the 375th Communication Support Squadron web application development team at Scott AFB, the app pulls event listings from organizational Facebook pages that are officially associated with a base and consolidates them into one place.

â€œItâ€™s a one-stop shop for Airmen to be involved in the Scott Community,â€ said Master Sgt. Delbert Freeborn, 375th CSPTS project manager. So far Scott AFB, along with McConnell AFB, Kan., and Travis AFB, Calif., have begun using the program. The Public Affairs offices at other locations will be responsible for ensuring their base gets included into the app, and several bases are in the process of doing just that.

Defense Acquisition University registration to open in May

Defense Acquisition University registration will open around May 17, 2012, and students should apply as soon as possible since classes fill quickly. Membersâ€™ applications will be processed by priority, supervisor approval date and class start date, with Priority 1 students taking precedence.

Acquisition workforce members should regularly monitor the ACQ Now website for the most current information regarding DAU registration and course updates. Most resident classes only hold 30 students, and students should apply upon immediate release of the schedule. Itâ€™s important for applicants to note that a hundred or more other students may be applying for the same class â€” especially if it is the first one on the schedule.

For commonly used courses such as ACQ 201B, Intermediate Systems Acquisition Part B, students should apply for more than one offering. Even though ACQ Now may show availability, the ACQ Now site is refreshed every 24 hours. With classes filling up and forming waitlists, students will not be able to see updates until the following day.

Air Force Marathon officials seek 2,000 volunteers

Air Force Marathon officials are looking for more than 2,000 volunteersÂ to helpÂ host the 16th annual event Sept. 15., and volunteer registration is now officially open.

â€œWe couldnâ€™t have this marathon without the support of the volunteers,â€ said Jeanette Monaghan, a volunteer coordinator. â€œWeâ€™ll have at least 30,000 people visit the sports and fitness expo on Sept. 13 and 14, and that part alone takes a huge amount of volunteers.â€

In addition to the volunteer positions at the expo, there will also be spots to fill on race day at the Air Force Museum and at the 5K event at Wright State University. Bands are also needed to provide entertainment for the runners along the course on race day. All of the positions are listed on the marathonâ€™s website atÂ www.usafmarathon.com, and volunteers can register online.

All volunteers receive a free Air Force Marathon T-shirt. For more information or to register, visit www.usafmarathon.com.

Air Force officials to launch myPers

Air Force officials are launching a new name for online personnel services and human resources knowledge: myPers.

Rebranding the Air Force Personnel Services website, previously known as AFPERS, requires more than just a flip of the switch. Members of the Air Force Personnel Center are in the process of addressing all IT and knowledge updates to ensure a smooth transition.

The myPers naming convention mirrors the myPay model that Department of Defense service members and civilians are familiar with and use to access their Leave and Earnings Statements, W-2s and Thrift Savings Plan information.

â€œThe Air Force continues to fundamentally shift the way personnel services are provided, from primarily face-to-face interactions to a tiered model with services delivered through online self-service, the Total Force Service Centers and fewer in-person interactions,â€ said Lt. Col. John Silverman, the Air Force Personnel Centerâ€™s knowledge operations chief. â€œAirmen can view myPers from home and access personnel information from any computer.â€

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Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Public Affairs office of Luke AFB, Ariz. All photographs are Air Force photographs unless otherwise indicated.